This lesson plan art project is suitable in classrooms, as well as by homeschooling families. In addition, this project works well for independent study groups in daycare settings and play dates. Because the focus for this lesson plan is on the alphabet, it is best suited for children between the ages of 2 and 5. Depending on schedule constraints, this lesson plan can be broken down so each letter has its own day, or it can be completed in a few sittings.
Materials:
- 14 pieces of construction paper: paper can be an assortment of colors, or all the same color
- Ruler
- White craft glue
- Pencil
- Stapler
- Magazines
- Junk mail
- Clip art
- Alphabet stencils
- Alphabet stickers
- Scissors
- Crayons
- Markers
- Colored pencils
Instructions:
- Set up the work area so each child has 14 sheets of construction paper, white craft glue, pencil, scissors, crayons, markers, and colored pencils.
- In the middle of the work area, set out the stapler, magazines, junk mail, clip art, alphabet stencils, and alphabet stickers for the entire group to share.
- Fold each piece of construction paper in half to form a booklet, using the ruler to create a sharp crease. Stack each booklet one on top of each other, and help each child staple the booklet together.
- Using the pencils, crayons, markers, and colored pencils encourage each child to write out the alphabet on the front and back covers of their books.
- Dedicate each page of the book to one letter of the alphabet. Encourage children to create collages using the magazines, junk mail, clip art, alphabet stencils, and alphabet stickers.
Notes:
- If children a struggling too much with white craft glue, glue sticks are a suitable substitute.
- Ask children to look for pictures of things starting with the letter they are working on. In the case of their own name, consider taking pictures of students to use in their books.
- Encourage children to bring in materials from home (empty food boxes, their family’s junk mail or magazines, coloring pages, and damaged books they can cut up).
Variations:
- Use glitter glue to further embellish book pages, or to create borders around the letters for each page of their books.
- Tie books together with ribbons or yarn, rather than stapling them together.
- Collect “flat” items from nature in the schoolyard and on the playground to incorporate into book pages.
Rather than making a book out of construction paper, provide students with inexpensive pre-bound blank books (small blank books are available in $1 sections of craft stores and $1 stores, or you can find single subject notebooks for $.25 in super centers that work just as well). That way, more than one page can be dedicated to each letter of the alphabet, or this lesson could grow further in numbers or the difference between lower case and capital letters.
There is a lot of opportunity for expansion on this lesson plan, as well as changing it up to suit your classroom’s current curriculum.
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